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Macaron Tutorial

Saturday, September 06, 2008

More berries! It's not that I won't find stone fruits and other summer fruits living in a Southern state, it's just that they will probably taste bland and by the time Fall hits, I know my baking mind will be ready for apples and pears. I have been freezing and preserving a ton these past few days so if I get a craving for juicy roasted peaches and creme anglaise in the middle of November, one trip to the freezer and I am set!

Friday afternoon when B. went to put bottles of water in the freezer as part of our preparations for Tropical Storm Hanna, he was amazed to find the bottom drawer full of halved peaches, halved plums, raspberries, blueberries, watermelon for quick sorbet, not to mention doughs of various kinds, etc... Tucked in a corner he noticed a small box with a few red berry macarons that I had saved "just" for him. He exclaimed "It almost makes me wish we lost power with that storm!" to which I replied "take a peak out the window and tell me that with a straight face!". We live on a tidal creek, our house is 12 feet off the ground so if the water keeps getting up into the yard with the midnight tide, we might get up to see a natural pool in the garage. I took hour by hour pictures this afternoon as I was cooped inside baking and making soup. A tropical storm calls for chocolate cake don't you think?

Why keep macarons in the freezer? Well, last weekend our friend D. came over and helped me out of a little situation and as a thank you I made her and her husband some macarons for their get together on Labor Day. I tell you what, there are many special moments in life but getting together with close friends, grilling, chilling, playing croquet and eating macarons is definitely one of them! Hard to think that this beautiful sunny day would lead to such a downfall of rain by friday, but such is Mother Nature. It is a very humbling feeling to know that one only can surrender to its plan and go with the flow. It's kind of appeasing to me, in a weird sort of way. I saw people giving in that collective movement of stress all day long, at the store, the gas station and I just wanted to go up to them and offer them a macaron to help them relax! I think I'll need a truckload of macarons if we get a hurricane this season (knock on wood real quick, thank you!).

Since I had a lot of egg whites left from making ice cream and other custards, I made a double batch of macarons, filled them and tucked the away in the freezer, well wrapped for when a little cravings hits us these stormy days. I did do my little rituals of turning the fridge and freezer to the lowest settings and hopefully we won't lose power for long if at all. Our hosts this past Labor Day love chesecakes and that was the inspiration for the filling, a cream cheese buttercream with a center of quick raspberry and redcurrant jelly. I call it "quick jelly" because it is not a jelly in the traditional sense of the term, it does not cook for long and contains gelatin to help it set, as well as the whole berries and not just their juice. I needed a small quantity for the macarons, hence the rapid method instead of the whole jelly making and ensuing canning. Feel free to subsitute with your favorite berry jam, homemade or not.

I get quite a few emails about macarons and I do not consider myself an authority in the matter, there are indeed quite a few bloggers sharing the same passion, and a quick Google search can quickly lend to macaron heaven as far as choices. I do recommend reading the tutorial in Desserts Magazine: not because I wrote it but because I tried to gather a lot of tips, ideas and methods from other chefs, home cooks and bloggers. It is by no means a comprehensive guide to macaron making but I think it is a great place to start demystifying as well as understanding some key points in the method (regardless of the type of meringue you use). I mostly use the French meringue method with great results but if you want to try your hand at the Italian meringue method, my friend Mercotte in France has written (in English) a great tutorial on the subject.

For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry and your macarons won't work. Combine the almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Pass through a sieve. Add them to the meringue,with the coloring and give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 300F. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer.

In the bowl of stand mixer, whip the egg whites until they have soft peaks. In the meantime, combine 2 Tb water with the sugar to a boil in a heavy saucepan and bring the syrup to 250F. Slowly add the sugar syrup to the egg whites. If you use hand beaters, this is even easier and there is less hot syrup splatter on the side of your bowl and in the whisk attachment of the stand mixer. Continue to whip until the meringue is completely cooled. Slowly add the butter, one tablespoon at a time. The mass might curdle but no panic, continue to whip until it all comes together. Add the cream cheese, the same way, a little at a time until everything is smooth. Whisk in the vanilla extract, or paste or bean. Keep it to spreadable consistency for the macarons and refrigerate the leftover for cupcakes or mini toast in the fridge up to 3 days or in the freezer.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it bloom.In a heavy saucepan,combine the berries, sugar, lemon juice and zest. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer 10 minutes to let the fruits release their juices. Remove from the heat, add the gelatin and stir until completely melted into the fruits. Pour into a small plastic container line with plastic wrap, let cool to room temperature and refrigerate until set. Can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer.

To assemble: pipe or spoon a small amount of macarons on one shell, position some jelly right in the center and top with another shell.

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comments:

I feel like a moron because everyone seems to make these, know about them, etc.. I have never even had them. But I must say I don't know what you are best at...food or photography. You make a flippin cookie look like absolute heaven, the kind I would push some little kid out of the way for. But the whole reason I am here and blogging and cooking more often is to stretch myself, although I have had more failed recipes since I began and my photos are well...let's just say when I photograph people I tend to get half heads, the backs of heads, you get the idea. Luckily food doesn't move, but it does melt. Augh. Now I am hungry.

Helen, I just adore the last photo!!No need to be humble, really. We all know you are one of the most fabulous macaron expert out here in the blogosphere!

And I so love the shapes of the red berry jellies!! Good idea on keeping summer fruits in the freezer for winter. But before I can do that I need to get a bigger freezer. Hmm...maybe I should even start by freezing some pears and quinces!!

Hmm, given that your humidity is so high, maybe there's some hope for me to make good macarons yet! I'm always afraid of producing a bunch of caps floating in a sea of molten egg white, haha :)I sincerely hope your area remains safe during this turbulent season. I don't think eating your delicious stored macarons would be tempting fate! (Honestly I didn't even know you could freeze them, so that's good.) I am salivating over the berry-cream cheese combination!

WOW WOW WOW !I can totally empathisize with B. and his Sherlockian detecting skills. Can you please have a contest where the winner gets to peek in your freezer? Even if it's just virtual via Flickr?When am I going to get up the nerve to try to make these lill' darlings?Hmmm...Bet you saw that the Maitre has a new book coming out...http://www.pierreherme.com/retrait-boutique/product.cgi?pid=833&cwsid=3628phAC194316ph2170631

Helen, I keep my macarons in the freezer too and trust me, my neighbors love it. I have found Gary a couple of times sneaking into the garage to steal a couple of macarons out of the freezer... I love that. Sharing macarons is such a pleasure... As always, fantastic!

Everytime I see new macarons on your blog, or on some of the other French or bilingual blogs I read, I keep telling myself I will make them. I've never actually had a macaron! Maybe this will be the time. Too bad I used up all my egg whites on angel food cake. I'll have to get more at the Farmer's Market this morning.

Every time I see macarons, I think of you, my friend - and because you are so generous about everything you know on food and baking, I'm in the kitchen now, trying to make my first batch of macarons. You are the inspiration for me right now!

I love macarons and I must admit that this is my favorite cookie.Like every blogger out there, I also tried to make it and it turned out just okay. I must follow your tutorial next time and hopefully it will be (almost) perfect like your.

I have a daughter with nut allergies and I noticed you used ground almonds for the shells. I want to make this. Can I leave the almond out or is it necessary to include for the shells to turn out right?

Macarons have become one of my "specialties". Like anything, practice makes perfect. What I so appreciate about your site is that you give me new flavors to do all the time! I might try these next week!

These macs are so very pretty! Just wanted you to know that I just gave my fireplace mantle (a nice solid maple) a few really good knocks for you! I don't want you to have a swimming pool in your garage! (Though I think a storm is an excellent reason for chocolate cake - though really, chocolate cake is its own reason in this house LOL!)

When you post about macarons, I'm here! Gee whiz, Helen, you have a knack for these little cookies. I love the deep red colour you achieved and your food styling is gorgeous! I wish I could get a hang of taking better photos!

That's it... I'm poppingover for a visit... macarons on hand for visitors... WOW!They are so pretty and colourful... I adore them! And no... I still have not had one since June... no place close enough... so sad!

Coucou Helene,I have been through a devastating earthquake and a 1 week long power outage in the middle of winter... I agree with you being prepared is essential and having some special treats on hand helps deal with the stress you are going through... A gentle reminder that everything will be okay. Tes macarons sont tres elegants et ont l'air super bons.

Honestly speaking this makes my mouth watery. I really go back and forth looking at your photos here. Same goes to this article post about parisian macaroons. A lot of variety of colors and very very delicious looking macarons. Love it!http://www.foodista.com/2008/02/26/parisian-macaroons/

Mimi:Powdered food coloring is prefered because it does not add any moisture to the batter. If you use liquid coloring, make sure not to add to much and add it before the batter is completely folded so that you can monitor how liquid your batter gets. Most people make the mistake of adding the liquid coloring at the end of folding and then fold some more to mix it in and that's where the macarons will crack on you.

My husband is now looking over my shoulder and first he saw Aran's blog and I said, "Here is another you must see!" I clicked onto your blog. He loves berries, especially raspberries so, as he said with Aran's, he said with yours, "You have to make these!" I think he should not look over my shoulder too much..makes him hungry.

I was so excited when I read your recipe! Not only do the macarons look fabulous, the recipe is also gluten-free! Almond flour is a staple of my reccent adventure into gluten-free cooking (due to my husband's allergy). I had no idea you could use almond flour for something so luscious. :) Oh, and the fried stawberries on an earlier post - also gluten free! So, thanks againg for your inspiring blog and innovations in the kitchen.

I am pretty new to the food blog world, and I'm completely impressed with your beautiful food! You can never have too many good berry recipes and I especially can't wait to try the fried strawberries! You are amazing!

A tropical storm definitely calls for chocolate cake, yessiree! I have a question regarding freezing macarons though - I've done it in the past when I've made too many, but after defrosting them in the fridge, I find they're usually softer and have lost the crunch of the shell. Do you have a trick that prevents this from happening? My defrosted ones never taste as good, texturally, as the fresh ones, such that it almost seems pointless to freeze them in the first place.

Y: I never encountered a problem with freezing them. I put them in an airtight container type Tupperware line with a double layer of plastic wrap and store them in the top part of my freezer, which is closer to the fridge (I have a bottom pulled down freezer).

Good grief. More temptation with macarons. You are too much! I love the berry jelly especially. That alone is worth the price of admission, my dear. Good thing I wasn't there, or you'd not have had any jellies left for your macarons. I really will make macarons some day (with your tutorial no less!).

hi, i have tried this macaron recipe twice already and both times i just can't seem to get the macaron out it gets stuck to the parchment sheet even though i put some hot water to ease out the macaron. I followed the recipe pretty closely except for the powdered food colouring part, i use liquid food colouring instead. Is it because of the colouring therefore i have a fragile shell and sticky macaron?

nat: yes it could be due to the liquid coloring depending on how much you used. One way around it would be to add some meringue powder or 1 Tb almond powder+ 1 Tb powdered sugar to the mix. One other thing would be to add a few minutes of baking.

You're pictures are beautiful. I can't wait to try these recipes out myself. Quick question..I see that the amt of sugar varies from recipe to recipe of 30g - 50g (ie black and white macaron, vs berry macaron)..what quantity of granulated sugar do you recommend?

I've been desperately craving good macarons ever since I got home from Paris and finally got up the nerve to do it (with your blogs help!) tonight. Just wanted to say thanks and freaking spot on! :) My roomates and I are ridiculously happy right now:)